As I wait to light my little brown diyas and candles this year on Diwali day, I cannot help go back to the lines I jotted as soon as it all ended last year.
“It’s Diwali night
Festival of lights
Glitzy is my street,
Smoked up its sky.
I look, peering into the haze
In little disappointed gaze
Where is the natural light?”
Our house was the only one in the street lighting candles and oil lamps. The rest, in yellow, pink, blue etc, were powered by electricity. I dread witnessing the same on Diwali day this time around.
To us in the family, lighting of lamps has been of great significance. While today I understand it as being an eco-friendly option, there is more to this than what meets my environmentally sensitive eyes.
For years it has meant that the entire family gets together for one common activity. In our busy lives today when common doing and bonding is less and less possible, a natural process like this can touch one’s heart. Otherwise it gets lost with a click of a button, as circuit lights dazzle.
The festival of Diwali today is ridden with ostentatious and almost vulgar behaviour. A neighbour of ours proudly told me a couple of years back that the family blew up crackers worth Rs 50000! I know what junk was created in front of my house, and am dreading a repeat performance of an inflated scale this year.
Of course, consumerism has become a common feature of our celebration. Massive discounts, heavy advertising and many attractions draw people to shop for everything under the sun.
Now don’t consider me a cynic. We indulge as a family too, but try to do it with things that matter. Distribute sweets to those who matter and in a way where the packaging is not more expensive than the actual contents.
Today, we might send the obligatory gift to fifty odd people, but simply don't have time to know what’s happening in their lives? Instead, would it not be better to limit ourselves to a number where we can retain that personal touch?
What is lost in all this opulence is the natural light. Can we this year, try and take one step closer to celebrating the spirit of the festival of lights?
